This blog is dedicated to sharing the concept that our hands are essential to learning- that we engage the world and its wonders, sensing and creating primarily through the agency of our hands. We abandon our children to education in boredom and intellectual escapism by failing to engage their hands in learning and making.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Home and back to work

We got back from Colorado yesterday afternoon, so today I will begin getting ready for my box making class with the Eureka Springs School of the Arts. I will have 6 or 7 adult box makers with varying levels of skill and experience for 5 days of box making fun. I'll begin sharing photos tomorrow. In the meantime, I have been involved in several discussions over the last few days concerning the question, "What is happening to our boys?" That this is a widely shared concern for others is reflected in the number of books coming out on the subject. Boys Adrift: the Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men, by Leonard Sax is an excellent example.

I personally feel, as you already know, that involvement with the hands in doing real things is an important part of the process of maturing as sound, reasonable and responsible full fledged adults.

Woodworking is one of the great ways to get kids involved in learning through their hands. There are others, too. Gardening, doing chores, cooking, caring for animals, hiking in the woods, and the list goes on. There are a couple things we know don't work: Computer games and television. It is better to play music than to listen to it, and unless I am completely mistaken, there isn't a soul in heaven who got there by texting.

I have a last parting photo from Colorado, taken on the evening before we left. It reminds me that I need to take greater effort to be outdoors in Arkansas letting myself be more consistently reminded of the beauty that surrounds us.

About Me

I have been a self-employed woodworker in Eureka Springs, Arkansas since 1976. I live with my wife Jean on a wooded hillside overlooking our beautiful historic community.
In addition to work in my wood shop, I teach children at the Clear Spring School in a program called "The Wisdom of the Hands." My eighth book "Beautiful Boxes, Design and Technique" was published by Taunton Press in September 2014. I also write for Fine Woodworking and other woodworking magazines.
My resume can be downloaded at
www.dougstowe.com/resume.doc